ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Cabinet
Cabinet approves extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana  for another four months 
The food grain under Phase V would entail an estimated food subsidy of Rs. 53,344.52 Crore
The total outgo of foodgrains in Phase V is expected to 163 LMT
After successful completion of Phase IV, Phase V will begin from December 1, 2021
Food grains at 5 kg per person per month free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the NFSA will be continued till March, 2022
In pursuance of the pro-people announcement made by Prime Minister in his address to nation on 07.06.2021 and as part of the Economic Response to COVID -19, the Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana  for a period of another 4 months i.e. December 2021 till March 2022 @ 5 kg per person per month free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act  [Antodaya Anna Yojana & Priority Households] including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer .
Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme was operational from April to June, 2020 and July to November, 2020 respectively. Phase-III of the scheme was operational from May to June, 2021. Phase-IV of the scheme is currently operational for July-November, 2021 months.
The PMGKAY scheme for Phase V from December 2021 till March, 2022 would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of Rs. 53344.52 Crore
The total outgo in terms of food-grains for PMGKAY Phase V is likely to be about 163 LMT.
It may be recalled that in the wake of economic disruptions caused by the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 in the country last year, the Government in March 2020 had announced the distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrains  to about 80 Crore National Food Security Act  beneficiaries at the scale of 5 Kg per person per month under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana , over and above the regular monthly NFSA foodgrains i.e., regular entitlements of their ration cards, so that the poor, needy and the vulnerable households/beneficiaries do not suffer on account of non-availability of adequate foodgrains during the times of economic crisis. So far, under the PM-GKAY the Department had allocated a total of almost 600 LMT foodgrains to the States/UTs equivalent to about Rs. 2.07 Lakh Crore in food subsidy.
The distribution under PMGKAY-IV is presently ongoing, and as per the reports available from States/UTs so far, 93.8% foodgrains have been lifted and nearly 37.32 LMT , 37.20 LMT , 36.87 LMT , 35.4 LMT  and 17.9 LMT  foodgrains have been distributed to about 74.64 Crore, 74.4 Crore, 73.75 Crore, 70.8 Crore and 35.8 crore beneficiaries respectively.
Going by the experience of earlier phases, the performance of PMGKAY-V is also expected to be on the same high level as achieved before.
Overall, the government will be incurring an expenditure of nearly Rs.2.60 lakh Crore in PMGKAY Phase I- V.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Senegal in the field of Health and Medicine
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Senegal in the field of Health and Medicine
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding  between India and Senegal in the field of Health and Medicine.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
The 14th February & Beyond explores the commercial nature of Valentine’s Day and the mental health crisis caused by it: Director Utpal Kalal
“The way Valentine's Day is marketed, every individual feels the need to have a partner for the day”: Psychologist Shilpa Agrawal
: Panaji, January 22, 2021
Valentine's Day is tampering with the mental well-being of our society. This is the emphatic and unequivocal message given by The 14th February & Beyond, an IFFI 51 Indian Panorama Non Feature Film, in the words of Director Utpal Kalal. "The film explores the commercialized nature of this highly capitalised day". He was addressing a press conference at the 51st International Film Festival of India  today, January 22, 2021, following the film screening yesterday.
The Director clarifies that his film is not against celebrating love, but showcases how multinationals are encashing this day by manipulating tender human minds. The film explores how a day that was supposed to be filled with love has turned into a human-made disaster and big chaos and seeks to create awareness about it. Highlighting various dimensions of Valentine's Day, the documentary shows the consequences this day has brought to society. "The way Valentine's Day is marketed, every individual feels the need to have a partner for the day", said psychologist Shilpa Agrawal who is featured in the 59-minute documentary and who too was present at the press conference.
Kalal reveals that he wanted to convey the message through a story. "When I was researching this subject, I did not want the film to have a journalistic narrative. I wanted to narrate a story."
Agrawal explained how the Day often leads to some very dark memories, humiliation, rejection and crisis of self-esteem, especially among teenagers. "The popular notion of Valentine's Day is that of romantic love. However, there is an age for celebrating romance. In the name of romance, girls as young as 10-12 years indulge in sexual relationships, which cannot be justified medically, psychologically, socially or ethically. But it is happening".
A number of intellectuals and renowned personalities including psychologist Dr. Sudhir Bhave, police officer DSP Manjita Vanzara, lawyer Yashma Mathur, American Indian author Rajiv Malhotra, scholar Nityanand Mishra and journalist Namita Singh have appeared in the documentary. Archival videos of former US Presidents have also been used to add power to the message of the film.
About IFFI, Director Utpal Kala said: "Organizing the festival so wonderfully amidst the pandemic situation is something very positive”.
Prime Minister's Office
PM greets people on Mahashivratri
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people on the occasion of Mahashivratri.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"महाशिवरात्रि के पावन-पुनीत अवसर पर आप सभी को मंगलकामनाएं। देवों के देव महादेव सबका कल्याण करें। ओम नम: शिवाय।"
Ministry of Railways
Parcel Business
In order to provide benefit to parcel customers including farmers and businessmen, Indian Railways have taken a series of measures which include -
- Opening of all freight handling terminals for handling of parcel traffic.
- Formation of dedicated teams at zonal and divisional levels for dealing with parcel related issues.
- Increasing the parcel carrying capacity by permitting attachment of LHB parcel van as 23rd coach and leasing of parcel space in parcel vans attached to Rajdhani/Duronto trains, and allowing booking of parcels upto 120 days in advance.
- Providing incentives to parcel traffic by reducing security deposit in case of leased parcel space from 10% to 5% of the annual contractual value, discount upto 30% on brake-vans and indented parcel vans/Parcel Cargo Express Trains  in case their utilization is less than 40%, 8% discount on base freight for parcel special trains indented and loaded with a composition of 24 parcel vans plus brake-van, and discount in advance bulk booking of parcel space.
- Operating Kisan Rail services to enable farmers to move perishables including fruits and vegetables from production or surplus regions to consumption or deficient regions. 50% subsidy in freight, which is borne by Ministry of Food Processing Industries , is being granted on transportation of fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail services.
So far, 24 rakes of export traffic have been sent to Bangladesh. Besides, Zonal Railways have been advised to explore the avenues available in export sector and identify potential traffic that can be moved to Ports through Railways.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education to streamline the forms and processes for reducing compliance burden in Higher Education Sector
The Ministry of Education  and University Grants Commission  have started a series of online interactions with stakeholders to streamline the forms and processes for reducing compliance burden in Higher Education Sector, as a follow-up to the Government focus on ease of doing business to enable ease of living for the stake holders.
The first such online workshop in the series was organized, which was chaired by Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
Prof. D. P. Singh, Chairman, University Grants Commission and Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education  were also present. Representatives from Industry Associations such as CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, and Vice-Chancellors from some Central, State, Deemed, Private Universities and Technical Universities shared their views on reducing compliance burden in Higher Education Institution. Based on their feedback certain areas have been identified for streamlining process and reduction of compliance burden. These areas include –
- Governance and Regulatory Reforms
- Reengineering of process and increased use of technology to ease students, faculty and staff
- Repeat demand for information by regulatory bodies leads to a lot of repetitive work. Only information that provides value addition should be insisted on from HEIs
All the VCs present were requested to also conduct an internal meeting in their institutions on the theme and to forward their suggestions from the meeting to the UGC.
UGC would be the nodal agency for such discussions.
More such workshops will be conducted in the near future to ensure participation of maximum Higher Education Institutions for identifying areas for reduction of compliance burden.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 147.72 Cr
More than 96 lakh Vaccine Doses administered in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently at 98.01%
58,097 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours
India's Active Caseload currently stands at 2,14,004
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 2.60%
With the administration of more than 96 lakh Doses  vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 147.72 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 1,58,21,510 sessions.
The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,03,88,424
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
97,24,352
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,83,86,432
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
1,69,24,656
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
85,11,766
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
50,52,85,581
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
34,12,84,803
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
19,52,45,545
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
15,31,22,132
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
12,18,11,698
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
9,65,23,457
|
|
Total
|
|
1,47,72,08,846
15,389 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 3,43,21,803.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.01%.
58,097 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
India’s Active Caseload is presently at 2,14,004. Active cases constitute 0.61% of the country's total Positive Cases.
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 13,88,647 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 68.38 Cr  cumulative tests.
While testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 2.60% and the Daily Positivity rate also reported to be 4.18%.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Department of Commerce kick-starts Special Campaign 2.0 for disposal of pending matters
In accordance with the vision of Swachh Bharat of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, a Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters is under way in the Department of Commerce from 2nd to 31st October, 2022. The Campaign is being implemented in the Department of Commerce as well as in the attached/Subordinate/field offices. The main focus areas of the Campaign include effective disposal of public grievances, references from the Members of Parliament, Parliament Assurances, Cleanliness drive, disposal of scrap and weeding out of files.
During the first phase of the Campaign , the pendency was identified. For this purpose, as well as to sensitize the organizations, meeting with all nodal officers of the organizations were held on 14.09.2022 and 30.09.2022.
During the Campaign Phase , all out efforts are being made by the Department and its Subordinate Office/autonomous organisations to dispose of all references identified during the Preparatory Phase. Progress is being uploaded on SCDPM Portal on daily basis.
O/o Chief Licensing Authority, DGFT Delhi has converted a hall into exhibition of various Promotional articles of the region, by removing scrap material.
Till 20th October, 2022 the Department of Commerce and its organisations have organised 73 swachhata campaign. Scraps have been auctioned generating revenue of Rs. 21,53,277/-. Out of 64249 electronic files, 29,170 have been reviewed and 14,560 stand closed. 1000 files have been transferred to National Archive for preservation.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Guidelines for use of Drone Technology
In order to promote the use of drone technology in agriculture, the following provisions have been made under the guidelines of Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization  being implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare :
 Financial assistance @ 100% of the cost of agriculture drone up to a maximum of Rs. 10 lakhs per drone is provided for purchase of drones by institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, KrishiVigyanKendras , State Agriculture Universities , State and other Central Government Agricultural Institutions/Departments and Public Sector Undertakings  of Government of India engaged in agricultural activities. The Farmers Producers Organizations  are provided grants up to 75% of the cost of agriculture drone for its demonstrations on the farmers’ fields. A contingency expenditure of Rs.6000 per hectare is provided to implementing agencies that do not want to purchase drones but will hire drones for demonstrations from Custom Hiring Centres, Hi-tech Hubs, Drone Manufacturers and Start-Ups. The contingent expenditure to implementing agencies that purchases drones for drone demonstrations is limited to Rs.3000 per hectare.
 In order to make available drone services to farmers on rental basis, financial assistance @ 40% up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 lakhs are provided for purchase of drones by Custom Hiring Centers under Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs and Rural entrepreneurs. Agriculture graduates establishing Custom Hiring Centers are eligible to receive financial assistance @ 50% of the cost of drone up to a maximum of Rs.5.00 lakhs per drone.
 For individual purchase of drones, the Small and Marginal, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, Women and North Eastern State farmers are provided financial assistance @ 50% of the cost up to a maximum of Rs. 5.00 lakhs and other farmers @ 40% up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 lakhs.
Looking into the advantages of drone technologies in agriculture, the DA&FW has released the Standard Operating Procedures  which provide concise instructions for effective and safe operations of drones for pesticide and nutrient application. All the drone operations in the country are governed by the Drone  Rules, 2022, notified by the Ministry of Civil Aviation . The Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee  has prescribed the guidelines/protocols for registration requirements of pesticides for drone application. It has also finalized the test protocols for phyto-toxicity evaluation and for bio-efficacy evaluation of pesticide formulation.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
1stAnnual Pathology Conference of Haryana Chapter of IAPM held
The 1stAnnual Pathology Conference of newly formed Haryana Chapter of Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists  was held at ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana today. Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Director General, ESIC was the Chief Guest during the event.
The conference was graced with the presence of distinguished speakers in the field of pathology alongwith Dean, Medical Superintendent and doctors of ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Faridabad.
Dr. Rajendra Kumar, in his address during the conference, said that ESIC is running one of the largest social security schemes in the world with clientele base of about 13.5 crore. He further talked about the recent technology based initiatives taken by ESIC to improve the delivery of services to beneficiaries. Revamped AAA+ app for appointments, e-Sanjeevani 2.0 app fortelemedicine, drug delivery and sample collection at homes of beneficiaries are some of the recent technology based initiatives undertaken by ESIC in pursuit of providing medical care with ease. He also informed about availability of all the cash benefits of ESI Scheme online. Now, cash benefits available under the scheme can be claimed online from the comfort of home, without need of visiting ESIC offices.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Cytopathology, Liquid Biopsy, Lung Cancer updates, Colonoscopy Biopsy, Soft Tissue Sarcomas, IF in Renal Biopsy were few of the topics which were discussed and deliberated upon during the conference. The distinguished speakers enlightened the participants with their thoughts and recent advancements in the field of medical sciences, especially in the field of pathology and microbiology.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Shri Parshottam Rupala takes charge as Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Dr. L. Murugan takes over as Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Shri Parshottam Rupala took charge as Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying today. The Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Shri Giriraj Singh received and welcomed Shri Rupala.
Dr. L. Murugan took over as Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
After assuming the office, Shri Rupala interacted with the media and expressed his assurance of efficient functioning of the Ministry in a targeted manner.
The minister also interacted with the senior officials of the ministry. On this occasion, many senior officers including Secretary, Additional Secretary of the Ministry were present.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
16.27 lakh new employees added under ESI Scheme in the month of January 2023
Around 22,800 new establishments registered under ESI Scheme in the month of January 2023
Benefits of ESI Scheme extended to 44 transgender employees in January 2023
As per the provisional payroll data of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation , 16.27 lakh new employees have been added in the month of January, 2023. A year-on-year comparison of payroll data reflects an increase of 17.88 lakh employees who paid contribution in ESI Scheme in January 2023 as compared to January 2022.
As per data, around 22,800 new establishments have been registered in the month of January, 2023 under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation ensuring social security cover to their employees.
Of the total 16.27 lakh employees added during the month, 7.52 lakh employees having age upto 25 years have got registered. This shows that the youth of the nation are getting good employment opportunities in the country.
Gender-wise analysis of payroll data indicates that enrolment of net female members has been 13.22 lakhs in January, 2023. The data also shows that a total 44 transgender employees have got registered under ESI Scheme in the month of January. This shows that ESIC is committed to deliver its benefits to every section of the society.
The payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise.
Election Commission
Social Media Platforms present “Voluntary Code of Ethics for the 2019 General Election” to Election Commission of India
The Social Media Platforms and Internet and Mobile Association of India , today presented a “Voluntary Code of Ethics for the General Election 2019” to Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Shri Ashok Lavasa and Shri Sushil Chandra. The Code of Ethics has been developed as a follow up to the yesterday’s meeting with IAMAI and representatives of Social Media Platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Google, ShareChat and TikTok etc.
Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sunil Arora while appreciating the steps taken, said that formulation of the Code augurs a good beginning but is essentially, a work in making. He said the Participants need to follow in letter and spirit the commitments made in the Code of Ethics. The Platforms have committed to process any violations reported under Section 126 of RP Act, 1951 within three hours as per Sinha Committee recommendations.
The Platforms have also agreed to create a high priority dedicated reporting mechanism for the ECI and appoint dedicated teams during the period of General Elections for taking expeditious action on any reported violations. Participants have also agreed to provide a mechanism for political advertisers to submit pre-certified advertisements issued by Media Certification and Monitoring Committee. The Code of Ethics also promises to facilitate transparency in paid political advertisements. IAMAI has agreed to coordinate with participants various steps mentioned in this code. Participants have also committed to voluntarily undertake voter awareness campaigns.
The ‘Code of Ethics” has been developed to ensure free, fair & ethical usage of Social Media Platforms to maintain the integrity of the electoral process for the General Elections 2019. The Code voluntarily agreed upon by the Participants comes into operation with immediate effect.
The text of the Code is linked below.
SBS/AC
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Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Cabinet approves Memorandum of Cooperation between India and Japan in the field of sustainable urban development
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approvedthesigning of Memorandum of Cooperation  on Sustainable Urban Development between the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Government of Japan, in supersession of existing MoU of 2007 on Urban Development.
Implementation strategy:
A Joint Working Group  will be constituted to strategize and implement programmes on cooperation under the framework of the MoC. The Joint Working Group will meet once in a year, alternately in Japan and in India.
The cooperation under this MoC will commence on the date of its signature and continue for a period of 5 years. Thereafter, it may be renewed automatically for further successive periods of 5 years at a time.
Major Impact:
The MoC will promote strong, deep and long-term bilateral cooperation in the field of Sustainable Urban Development between the two countries.
Benefits:
The MoC is expected to create employment opportunities in the areas of sustainable urban development, including Urban Planning, Smart Cities Development, Affordable Housing, , Urban Flood Management, Sewerage and Waste Water Management, Urban Transport  and Disaster Resilient development.
Details:
The objectives of the MoC are to facilitate and strengthen India-Japan technical cooperation in the field of Sustainable urban development including Urban Planning, Smart Cities Development, Affordable Housing , Urban Flood Management, Sewerage and Waste Water Management, Intelligent Transport Management System, Transit-Oriented Development, Multimodal Integration, Disaster Resilient development and other areas as mutually identified by both Sides. The proposed MoC will enable exchange of key learnings and best practices in the above-mentioned areas.